Klopp's human side never came up short - Weidenfeller

The former goalkeeper remembers the coach's time in charge of Borussia Dortmund as the highlight of his career as the club was turned "upside down"

Jurgen Klopp is an "emotional type" of coach as well as one who always makes the right tactical decisions, according to former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller.

Weidenfeller spent 16 years with Dortmund, but his most successful spell with the Bundesliga side came under Klopp's leadership. The keeper played a key role as Klopp guided Dortmund to consecutive league titles, two DFB-Pokal successes and a Champions League final, where they lost to domestic rivals Bayern Munich.

Klopp left in 2015 after seven years with the club and Weidenfeller lost his spot as first choice when Thomas Tuchel took over the following season before the goalkeeper brought an end to his career at the end of last season.

And the 38-year-old still holds the current Liverpool boss in high regard for his incredible impact, saying he was the ideal coach because of his tactical and personal approach.

"Klopp was just the right man at the right time," he told Sport1. "He has turned the club upside down. At the same time, he gave the team the confidence that something could develop there. We seized the opportunity and grew together.

"He is very direct, but also an emotional type. You could always count on him. The human side never came up short. Even about private things you could always talk to him. There was always an open exchange. As a coach, he always made the right tactical decisions."

The former Germany international admits that Klopp could turn fierce when he needed to motivate his players.

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"That was only positive," he added. "It should signal to the players: 'From now on, it counts!' We lived on the emotion. We did not have the quality in the squad at that time to be on a par with the top teams. We learned a lot about the sense of community, camaraderie and motivation."

The 2010-11 title win was Dortmund's first since 2002 - the year before Weidenfeller arrived - and he says captaining his side to top spot was the highlight of his career.

"After so many years to bring the bowl back to Dortmund and to celebrate my first championship was pure emotion," he added. "We were all very proud of that title. It was a fantastic feeling."